Swedbank AB Sells 6,869 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Swedbank AB lessened its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 304,831 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,869 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB owned about 0.09% of Prudential Financial worth $36,132,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 65.9% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 219 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 376.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 281 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp grew its position in Prudential Financial by 61.7% during the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 367 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PRU shares. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Prudential Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $101.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded Prudential Financial from an "underperform" rating to an "inline" rating and increased their target price for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Prudential Financial presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $125.31.

Prudential Financial Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of Prudential Financial stock opened at $121.89 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $100.60 and a 12-month high of $130.55. The company has a market cap of $43.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.83, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.31. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $120.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $120.67.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.01. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.03% and a return on equity of 15.30%. The company had revenue of $19.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.44 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.24 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.27%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.22%.

Insider Activity

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 537,249 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $27.92 per share, for a total transaction of $14,999,992.08. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 4,780,293 shares in the company, valued at $133,465,780.56. The trade was a 12.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Prudential Financial

Prudential Financial, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance, investment management, and other financial products and services in the United States and internationally. It operates through PGIM, Retirement Strategies, Group Insurance, Individual Life, and International Businesses segments.